1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing vortex rings of gas in a fluid medium. More specifically, the apparatus may operate automatically with a finite supply of a gas, or it may be connected to a supply of gas such that the vortex rings are generated automatically and continuously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vortex rings are aesthetically pleasing artifacts with behaviors and aspects that are very interesting to many people. A smoke ring, which is a form of a vortex ring made from a visible form of gas, can be made to traverse a small room, and even extinguish a candle flame several feet away from where the smoke ring was generated. However, vortex rings are not limited to smoke rings. A vortex ring of identical size to a smoke ring may be made of air instead of smoke. Such a ring comprises similar characteristics to a smoke ring, and can also travel invisibly across the same room and extinguish a candle flame. Vortex rings have been studied by students in the field of fluid dynamics, which is an important part of airplane design and other engineering disciplines.
Most people have only seen a vortex ring in the form of a smoke ring. However, there is another form of a vortex ring that can be studied and enjoyed without involving the many known severe dangers and drawbacks associated with the creation of smoke rings through the use of tobacco. This alternative form of a vortex ring is a ring made of a gas and travels vertically upward through a liquid medium. When created out of air within a medium of water, these vortex rings have also been known as bubble rings. They are enjoyable to play with and to study, although they have not been easy for the average person to generate.
Dolphins have also been known to generate bubble ring type vortex rings, possibly for the entertainment and enjoyment of the exercise. However, these vortex rings are not readily available for viewing by humans, of course, since dolphins live and swim in the depths of the Earth""s oceans, and have been captured on film creating bubble rings only a very few times. In addition, there is another place where vortex rings are thought to form which is of interest to people, and that is in the inside of some human""s hearts. If the studies are correct, the vortex rings are made of blood, and travel through the blood in the heart chamber, in patients with certain heart problems. Accordingly, there are several reasons why it is desirable to have a way to create vortex rings in a form that can be easily observed, studied, learned from and enjoyed.
There are several recent U.S. Patents which disclose different mechanical apparatus to aid in the production of vortex rings. In general, each of these patents relate to the generation of vortex rings in a fluid environment, such as water, with the use of air as the gas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,784 to Cullen teaches an apparatus for use by a human being in a fluid immersed environment. The apparatus comprises an elbow shaped tool with an elongated horizontal portion, and an elbow leading to a short vertical portion. At the end of the vertical portion, the apparatus includes a valve assembly. The elongated portion of the apparatus allows air to exit the apparatus away from the user""s face and hands, so that the air and water near the short vertical portion is not exposed to any turbulence. The configuration of the valve body that closes when the user stops blowing air through the elongated portion causes the bubble of air that is released to be one large bubble of air, and helps produce the toroidal configuration of the vortex rings. In general, the valve assembly responds to short bursts of air through an elongated passageway to produce vortex rings. Alternatively, the elongated section of the apparatus may be connected to a source of gas under pressure. The introduction of a burst of gas under pressure causes the body of the valve to momentarily be unseated thereby allowing a burst of gas to escape and produce the toroidal shaped vortex ring. Accordingly, the Cullen patent requires a person to be immersed under water or for a gas under pressure to deliver short bursts of air to momentarily unseat the valve and to produce a vortex ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,914 to Takahashi et al. teaches an apparatus for producing vortex rings. The apparatus uses an accumulator in the form of a cylindrical cup, wherein gas enters the accumulator and exits through an outlet affixed with a nozzle. When the accumulator is in a non-operating position, the valve member is urged by a coil spring toward the gas outlet, causing a seal of the outlet. However, in order to produce the vortex rings, a gas under pressure is introduced to the accumulator thereby causing an increase in the pressure in the interior chamber of the accumulator. The pressure of the gas causes the diaphragm to be outwardly inflated against surrounding water pressure and the force of the spring, which altogether takes the valve member out of contact with the gas outlet and discharges a pocket of gas through an exit nozzle. The gas stored in the accumulator is discharged into the nozzle which is closed by water pressure so that the nozzle is instantaneously opened. Accordingly, the Takahashi et al. patent require gas under pressure to be supplied to a chamber, and based upon the pressure of the gas the valve is unseated resulting in the generation of a vortex ring.
Accordingly, what is desired is an apparatus for generating vortex rings which eliminates the need for supplying gas under pressure, and eliminates the necessity for manual operation. It is not desirable to have a human being supply short burst of air to a nozzle apparatus submerged in a fluid environment. The person submerged in the fluid will have to hold their breath and as such will not be able to provide short bursts of air to the apparatus for an extended period of time. In addition, the human error factor is significantly increased when a person is submerged under water without an independent supply of oxygen. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a simple mechanical apparatus which can automatically generate vortex rings using a supply of pressurized or unpressurized gas.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for immersing in a fluid environment for generating vortex rings through the supply of a gas with or without pressure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of generating a continuous supply of vortex rings through a supply of gas entering the apparatus.
It is an even further object of the invention to provide an apparatus that comprises a gas inlet that may be modified for accepting gas from a finite source or from an infinite source of air. The inlet directs the gas to a pocket on an underside of a lever. When the upward buoyancy of the gas in the pocket exceeds the downward weight of the lever, the lever moves upwards slightly, changing the tilt angle of the lever and allowing the gas within the pocket to exit the underside of the lever through a nozzle. Based upon the design of the nozzle and the state of the gas, a vortex ring is created.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for immersion into a fluid environment and generating vortex rings from a finite supply of gas. The apparatus comprises a spring mechanism which remains closed in a rest position. A lever may be activated to supply a burst of air through an exit nozzle to produce a vortex ring.
These and other objects of the invention are produced through an apparatus and method for forming a vortex ring of gas in a fluid medium. The apparatus comprises a lever with a pocket formed within the underside of the lever at a proximal end, a hinge-type attachment at the proximal end of the lever which permits the lever to vertically pivot a limited distance, an inlet for introducing a gas to the underside of the lever, and a nozzle located at a distal end of the lever extending from an underside surface to a top surface. In addition, the apparatus comprises two adjustable stops, a lower stop for controlling downward displacement of the lever when it is in the lower position, and an upper stop for controlling upward displacement of the lever when the buoyancy of the gas lifts the lever. As gas is introduced to the underside of the lever by way of the inlet, the gas fills the pocket region on the underside of the lever. During the accumulation of the gas within the pocket, the buoyancy of the gas will become greater than the weight of the lever in the fluid. When the lift generated by the gas within the pocket region of the underside of the lever exceeds the downward pressure of the lever, the lever will rise tilting slightly upward and cause the gas to travel along an underside surface of the lever toward the nozzle. The shape and design of the underside of the lever, including a smooth gradual transition from the flat underside of the lever to the entrance of the nozzle, causes the gas to remain in a unitary bubble and allows the gas to exit the nozzle in a short burst generating a vortex ring. Accordingly, once the air under the lever has been released and the weight of the lever exceeds that of the gas within the pocket or there is no gas present in the pocket, the lever will return to the starting position adjacent to the lower stop once again prepared to begin the cycle of accepting air into the pocket region.